Spirit Bound Love never dies
by dhampirbina
Summary: 2 weeks left before graduation, Rose leaves St. Vladimir Academy, to break Victor Dashkov out of prison and save Dimitri. Can she make it with Lissa and Adrian helping her out? Can she turn Dimitri back to the man she loved, or will she go down with him?
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER 1**

Dimitri looked me deeply in the eyes and gave me a half-smile.. We were standing outside, in front of the gym, and the sun and the warm wind played so beautifully with his hair, and made it seem so much more angelic then it already was. His hair was an inch longer from the time in the cabin... I remembered that day so clearly. I could easily say that it was one of my happiest days in my life. Although this wasn't bad either. It made me crack a little smile. He took my breath away. But underneath it all, it all seemed so wrong.. Not that I wasn't happy, because i was very much, but in the back of my head i knew, that something wasn't right.. If i listened close enough, i actually could hear my heart breaking.

We weren't hiding, which didn't seem strange at all, right now. It felt right.. But then again, there wasn't any people around to bust our lust.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked me, while he moved closer to me.

"Nothing important" i said... I lied. I was a heck of i lier these days. I lied so well, that i actually started to believe it myself.. "I know you better than that, Roza." he stood so close to me now, that i could smell that aftershave of his, and feel his bodyheat. I was sucking it all in, every inch of him. I just couldn't get enough. I yearned for him, for his kisses and his touch. "It's been a long time since you last came to me.. I've missed you." i said. I could feel my tears was about to burst out, but i calmed myself with the thought of him next to me. _What's with all the emotions_? It was actually kind of embarrassing. "I know, I just.. I had some business to take care of" he said, sliding his hand up my back, tangling it in my hair playfully. I gasped for air. "But im here now." he said and smiled. He was so beautiful. So graceful and so..beautiful. God, i needed a bigger vocabulary. "Kiss me." i whispered. And just like that our conversation ended. He leaned down to me, pressing his lips against mine so lightly, cautious, at first, then the kisses grew stronger and stronger. They were hungry and they were consuming me. His hands and lips took possession of my body, and every touch was like fire on my skin. "I love you" he said every time he got the chance to catch his breath, he looked me in the eyes, "Roza, i want you..".. And that's when i saw a hint of red in his eyes, growing stronger.. He kissed me again, so hard this time that i wasn't sure that I ever could break free of his hold. Not that i wanted to. But something felt way of track here. His change of expression wasn't right. All of this, it wasn't right. He pressed me against the building wall, while kissing me hard on the lips, and then he started to make his way down, first to my cheeks, then my jaw, then my neck. "Dimitri, wait..." i moaned. He didn't stop. He slid his hand up to my throut, cutting of my oxygen supply.

"Dimitri, stop!!!!" I hissed. He looked at me, his hand still pressing against my throut. "Dont worry, it won't hurt" he said, cracking a cold smile, showing fangs. His eyes were red and his skin pale white, giving his true identity away. "You're a Strigoi.." I choked out, letting tears drop from my face. He released his hold on me, but i was frozen. I couldn't move, not even an inch. The sharp pain overwhelmed me, it felt like my chest was going to explode, and i was crying my ass out. "I won't hurt you, Roza. You know that. But i want to be together forever, i want you" he said. He leaned down and kissed me on the lips, pulling me into his chest. I knew it was a bad time to feel fuzzy, but I couldn't help it. Come on, i'm only half-human. He pulled back, looking at me for a second, and then leaned down to kiss my neck. I could feel his fangs. I closed my eyes, and a tear ran down my cheek, I exhaled and felt a flair of pane. His fangs bit hard into me, and i cried out.

I shot up, just as my alarm-clock went off. Looking confused around, I could recognize my room. "Holy cow-" I exhaled. I tugged the duvet to the side and got out of bed. I was all sweatty and, well, gros, so i headed for the shower. As the cold water was pouring through my hair and down my body, I reflected back on my dream. I had flashbacks of Dimitri kissing me, touching me.. Biting me. I touched the spot where he had sunk his teeth in, a couple of months earlier, when i was trapped in a building full of Strigoi, and remembered the feeling.. I was a sucker.

The graduation was getting so close, and the dreams was getting heavier. And they were starting to feel more real for every dream, for every night that passed. They started always so blissful, but ended..violently. Story of my life. I stepped out of the shower, dried up and put on some jeans and a hoody, pulled my hair back in a ponytail and left for class.

"She Looks like Rose, walks like Rose, I would have said sounds like Rose too, but you haven't said anything today.. What's up?" Christian asked on the way to lunch, and almost sound worried. "I'm just tired, I guess" I responded with no sound of interest in my voice. "Jeeez, Rose, could you sound any more miserable? You almost broke my heart there".

"Could break a heck of lot more than just your heart, if you don't shut up" I said with a smirk. He laughed and shook his head. "There's the Rose we all know".

As soon Christian saw Lissa he started walking in the other direction. "Where are you going, firecracker?" I joked. "Um, i'm kind of.. I'm still not comfortable seeing Lissa yet. I gotta go, Rose. See you later" he said, and then left. _"Dramatic much"_ I thought to myself. It was months since the episode with Lissa kissing Aaron while under the influence of compulsion. _"Let it go, Christian"_ I though to myself again.

"Where did Christian go?" Lissa asked, as soon as i was in hearing range. "Um, he got this thing.." I lied. " What thing?"

"Jeez, do I look like Sherlock Holmes? How should I know. Probably off setting someone on fire" I joked. Lissas lips twitched and then she cracked a smile and turned her serious face on again. "He's not over the whole Aaron thing, is he?" she asked with a sad voice. I could feel through the bond, that it actually hurt her more than she showed. I felt sad for her, and kind of imagened punching Christian in the face. Yup, it would bring me great pleasure and him great pain. "He'll get over it soon, really" I said, trying to be convincing. She looked at me and smiled. " Yup, gonna happen anyday now." I couldn't understand how Christian could do that to her, she was so loving and giving, how could he hurt her this way. And although she was hurting, she made jokes just to cover it up. I admired her for her strength.

I could feel from the bond, how exited Lissa actually was to see me. I returned the feeling. I've missed her. We hadn't been able to spend much time together, with all the things that's been going on. Making our own breaking-Victor-Dashkov-out-of-prison-jail-free-card was the biggest worry for the time being, even though i soon enough would get a promise mark and a certificate that said I was done being headmistress Kirovas slave.

After classes we hung out in Lissas room and watched movies, even though I wasn't in the movie-watching mood. Neither was she.

"Liss.." I started speaking, but cut my self off. "What?"

"Um.. Nothing". I could feel curiosity rushing though her, through the bond. "What is it, Rose?"

"Um, I just.. I'd been having these dreams.. About Dimitri." The mention of his name took her by surprice, it was long time ago since a last mentioned his name. It hurt to much to let his name slip through my lips. "What kind of dreams?" she continued.

"Well.. Him turning me. Into a Strigoi. And for every night that we're getting closer to graduation, they seem more and more real. They feel real.. I've been thinking about this for a while now, and um, I don't think I can wait till graduation.." I realized what I've said, after it slipped through my teeth. Damn it. This would go down bad.

"You want to go? When? You know I'll follow you, I won't make the same mistake again, letting you leave all by yourself" she said firmly.

"Liss, I can't drag you out of school two weeks before graduation" She looked at me puzzled like i was talking jibberish, then smiled. "Who's dragging? Im going by choice, Rose. Because I want to. Screw School, I'm a princess, I can graduate whenever I want." I smiled. I could feel from the bond that she really ment every single word she said, and her feelings rushed over me. She was actually exited. But could I be that selfish and take her outside the protecting wards of the school and only have me to defend her? I couldn't stand the thought of her being hurt because of my own vendettas. If the Strigoi takes me down, she'll be defendless. I can't take that risk. I've lost half of me because of Dimitri, I can't stand losing another half because of Lissa. "Liss, I love you.. You know that. I can't risk you. You're too important. And I know how much you want to go with me, trust me, I do. But I don't think it's an option at this moment." She looked hurt. Good god. "You don't want me with you? Saving Dimitri?" The mention of his name burned in my ears, and my heart ached. I looked down, and I could feel Lissas regret-"I'm sorry" she said. "It's okay. I gotta go." I said, closing the door behind me. It was past curfew, and i headed back to my room. I crashed on my bed, and felt slumber. The sleep was sneaking in on me. So was the dreams. And Dimitri.

I was up in the cabin, where me and Dimitri had sex for the very first time.. I sat on the bed, and could hear footsteps outside. I jumped to my feet and grabbed my stake. The handle turned, and a tall and handsome man entered. Dimitri... I stood there, ridgid, not budging. I was prepared, I knew what to do. I was ready for him.

"Roza.." he said. I jerked back. "Don't call me that! You don't have the right to call me that, without a heartbeat" i cried out. He took another step towards me and I followed my insticts and jumped him. I punched him in the face, took a step back and flykicked him in the gut. He flew back, and I landed on top of him placing my stake to his heart.

"But I have a heartbeat" he said, looking at me with those gorgeous eyes. There was no Strigoi over him, he's eyes was beautiful and full of life as usual. He saw me gazing, and didn't miss his shot at taking me down by surprice. Ripping my stake out of my hand, he flipped our positions, so he was on top of me now. "Let go of me!" I yelled. "This isn't legal, comrade!" I continued. He chuckled. "Oh, and staking a man is?" he chuckled again and the sound of it made my heart race. "Depends on which state your in" I said smiling. "I got my right to protect my property"

He laughed. "What property are you talking about?" The sound of his laugh made me want to kiss him so badly, he smelled so good. "Im talking about, well, my body for an instance. MY body is MY property." I said. "And guess what, Comrade, you're on top of my property! Move" I ordered smiling. I really didn't want him to move. And I think my smile gave me kind of away. "I don't want to move" he said smiling, pulling my waist against his body while the other hand slid down my thigh, pulling it up, so it almost went around his waist. I gasped for air and suddenly felt so lightheaded. A normal reaction around him. His head hovered only inches away from mine and I couldn't help myself. I put my arms around his neck and let him carry me off to the bed. He laid me down and brushed his lips against mine.. I pulled myself away from him to look him in the eyes, to remember this moment. "Whoa, déja-vu!" I smiled. He chuckled and shook his head. "Last time we we're in here, like this, it ended good.." he said smiling. It was like a stab in the heart, my smile suddenly came to a hold."No, it didn't." I said. His smile faded too, and he looked me deeply in the eyes, and I felt like the whole world stopped, right in this second. He kissed me again. This time more intensely. I pulled his shirt over his head, and unbuttoned my. The feel of his warm skin, burned inside me. He looked so good barechested. I could feel his heart beating, and it made me smile..

Someone knocked on the door and made me shoot up in bed. I was all sweatty and my heart raced. I pulled on my jeans, and went to open the door. I opened the door and I knew why they were here.

"What are you guys doing here? You're going to get so much trouble for this." I exclaimed. "I told you, I don't care. But I care about getting caught, so hurry, pack your bag, we got to get going" Lissa said. "And you know, i'm all for adventures, little Dhampir" Adrian joked. "No. I told you, i'm not dragging you in to this, Liss." I frowned, ignoring Adrian completely.

"Look, don't make me use compulsion on you, Rose!" Lissa said angrily. I knew I couldn't make her change her mind, so there was only one thing for me to do. "Come in, before anybody notices you. Give me 10 minutes". Adrian and Lissa stepped inside and I started packing my bag. We were going to try to save the love of my life, and it was now or never. I threw a hoody, two tank tops, a t-shirt, a pair of jeans and two stakes into the bag. Threw on a hoody and closed the door behind me. So far so good.

"You're going to let us go, and you're not going to call for help when we're gone. You're going to forget that you've talked to us tonight" Lissa was already using compulsion on one of the guardians that guarded our dorm." We ran as fast as we could, through the big lawn that led to the front gates.

"It's past your curfew, you're not allowed to be out here!" one of the guardians said. Lissa looked him deep in the eyes and concentrated. "Let us through. When we're on the other side of the gate, you're going to close it and forget about all of this". He stared blankly at us and then noded. The gate opened and we ran. "Damn, i'm good" Lissa laughed and just like that, we made our goodbyes to St. Vladimir Academy. "_I coming, Dimitri" _I thought. "_im coming!"_

I didn't know how to feel about this. I was exited. I was worried for my friends. I was.. missing Dimitri so much. These last couple of months I've felt that my life had lost meaning. Without him I didn't see reason in breathing anymore. Didn't see the reason in living, laughing and crying. And Lissa's darkness caused by Spirit, wasn't helping at all. I was in a dark place. I was lost and confused, sad and torned.. I was without him. I felt hollow. Like he had taken a part of me with him. Never in my entire life had I ever felt like this. This was beyond darkness. The only thing I had of him, was the dreams. I was cold inside, dead. Just like him. Whenever I dreamt of him, I felt alive. Everything I dreamed, was about him. And I wasn't ashamed to admit it. The sound of his heartbeat was the most significant sound in the world. And I would rather die, than live another day without it. I loved Dimitri not only with my heart. I loved him with my entire body. Every part of me ached for him.

If I couldn't save him, then I would be forbidden to remember him. I couldn't live like this. But I would be terrified to forget. It would be a hard line to walk. His hold on me was permanent and unbreakable. This was the way it was going to go down. If I couldn't save him, then everything would be lost. I would be lost, and there would be no more purpose for me in this life. I would follow him till the end. Till the bitter end.

Adrian got us everything we needed. He got us everything that was in his power to get. Cars, flight tickets. And we were already boarding our flight to Pensylvania, we we're going to the Royal Court to break Victor Dashkov free.

"What do you not get about the none smoking areas, dude? You're not allowed to smoke HERE." I said to Adrian. Something told me that this guy would never learn to obey the rules. "I paid a whole lot of money, to fly all the way to Pensylvania. The very least you could do is to let me smoke in peace, Hitler." Adrian joked. "Why am I Hitler, when you're the one gassing me with toxic smoke right now?" I replied. "Whatever, you're got to be some kind of evil, when you're ruining relax-time for me." Something in that sentence made me twitch. "Don't call me that.." I said coldly. "Call you what?" Adrian looked confused. " Never mind..." After that we didn't speak a heck of a lot. Lissa was in a coma, sleeping like there was no tomorrow. And Adrian just sat there, staring into nothing. I suddenly felt the urge to go to sleep, even though I wasn't that sleepy. I felt the urge to be with him..

"Where did you go?" His voice was soothing. We were sitting down in the middle of a meadow, and it was beautiful. The stars were shining so bright, and the moonlight was reflecting in his eyes. I was wearing a short silky black dress, with straps pierced with diamonds and a low cut. It was perfect. Sensual and seductive. Showed my curves beautifully. And I wore my hair lose, just the way he liked it. The wind blew calmly, and nothing else existed in the world, but the two of us.. It was warm, and the wind functioned like an aircondiotion. Keeping our skin cool. Everything was perfect. "I didn't go anywhere.. I've always been here with you." I replied. It was true. Everytime I wasn't with him psysically, i was mentally. My thought were with him, and so was my heart.

"No, you left. But it doesn't matter now, as long as you're here with me.. You know I can't exist if you're not here with me, Rose. By the way, you look beautiful" he said smiling. I felt the blood rush to my cheeks. He wore his hair lose, and I couldn't resist the temptation, I moved closer to him, tangling my hand in it, it felt like silk.. "You're handsome yourself.." I said looking him deeply in the eyes. My heart was beating so fast, that I was sure of a heartattack. He wore jeans and a unbuttoned shirt. He was beautiful, and seductive aswell. I put my other hand on his chest, feeling his heartbeat. His skin was so hot, that it felt like I'd burned my fingertips. It was perfect. I closed my eyes and enjoyed it. He sneaked his hands around my waist, moving me closer to him. I opened my eyes, looking at him. He was my world. He was the thing I lived for now. I gazed. But so did he. He loved me. I could feel it, I could see it in his eyes. He brought his lips to mine, and it turned into a passionate kiss. He pulled me closer, bringing me sitting on top of him, weilding my legs around his waist. He tangled his hand in my hair, while kissing me, and then tilted me to the ground, so he was on top of me.. The wind blew, and made his aftershave spread all over the meadow. I layed my hands around his waist, under his shirt, pushing him down at me, digging my nails in his skin, this was animal instinct taking over. And I was pretty sure it was going to leave a mark. He couldn't be close enough, I yearned for him. He let his hand slid up my thigh, gathering fabric with one hand. I couldn't get enough. He pulled back to catch his breath. "I love you." he whispered.. "And no matter what happens, i'll always be here, Roza. Know that. No matter how it'll turn out to be, don't be afraid to live on. Im inside of you. And i'll never leave you." Something about that was off. "What do you mean, no matter how it'll turn out to be? What will turn out to be what?" I think I sounded totally worried, because he smiled at me and shook his head. "When the time is right, you'll understand." He said. "Dimitri wha?.." I could here someone calling my name and already could feel how I was dragged out of this place, away from him, by someone. "You got to go, Roza. Don't worry, I'll still be here when you get back" he said smiling. "I don't want to go.. I want to stay here with you, Dimitri, why can't I stay?" I was tearing up. _"Rose, wake up. We're here." _The voice sounded familiar. Someone was pulling me back to reality against my own will.. I looked up at Dimitri, and gave him a last kiss. "I love you".

I woke up by Adrian pulling me. "Jeez, I thought you were dead." I strained a smile. "We're here".

It was freaking cold outside, and my hoody didn't keep me warm for long. As soon as we stepped outside the airport, I was shaking. Adrian took of his big, comfortable and probably pretty expensive jacket off and gave it to me, as we were walking towards a black Volvo. How could he pull this off? Unbelieveble. This was apperantly our ride. "It looks like you need this more than I do" He said. I could tell he was freasing too, but he didn't need to tell me twice to take on his generous offer. "Thanks" I murmured. "No problem."

It was going to be a really tricky thing, to get Victor out of jail. The place was strongly guarded, and it was a pickle to even go visit him, that time when he threatened to expose Dimitri and I. Dimitri had to pull some thick strings. "What are we going to do exactly?" Lissa asked. "We're going to the top, starting with our Queen bee." I said confidently. "So what, I'm going to use compulsion on her to get her to free Victor, and then what? I can't use compulsion on all the guards, there's to many." She was getting curious, she loved planning. Even though this was criminal planning. Potatoe, potata. " I don't need you to use compulsion on all the guards. Just Tatiana. You can order her, to order them to leave the prison. And while they're gone, we get Victor and run for the hills" I said. "It sure doesn't sound like planning of a master mind" Adrian smiled. "Look, if anyone's got a better idea, pleace, do NOT hold back, share it with the rest of the class. But if not, then it's all we got, and we're going with it-" I was almost yelling. Nobody said anything and I could feel the tension and hear Lissa in my head. _"Rose, we got to think this more through. We can't risk getting caught. You know that, it's not the time for being reckless."_ Auch. I knew she was right, but reckless was all I had. I was risking it all.

As we started driving towards the royal court, we began to discuss our options. There wasn't a lot of them. Shit.


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

"Slow down! I like the car, but I don't want to die in it!" Lissa shrieked. "Okay, i'm feeling a lack of trust here." Adrian joked. "You just started to feel it now?" I said sarcasticly. I loved speed. But Lissa's overwhelming fear of crashing won me over. "But seriously, slow down. If we get pulled over, it'll cost us to much time." I said. He finally slowed down. A lot. There was about a half an hour left, till we were at the court. My heart was pounding, and I was actually terrified. Our plan wasn't the most brilliant plan of the years. But we couldn't come up with anything else. "Okay, let's go through this one last time." I said. "We park our car in a safe distance, get in, use compulsion on Tatiana, break Victor free, run back to the car and start driving." I said. "Start driving where exactly?" Lissa asked. "I don't know.. Just far away from the court. And while we're in the car we make Victor tell us where his brother is. And then we go from there." I felt Lissa's insecurity. And fear. But she wasn't afraid to get caught, she was afraid of our plan failing, and me getting my heart broken. Again. She was afraid of not knowing what i'd do if I couldn't be with Dimitri. I was afraid of the same thing. I turned on the music, and sunk back in my seat.

We pulled over in the woods and covered our car with leaves as much as we could. I know, I know. What a cliché. As we started walking, Lissa slid down by my side, and took my hand, holding it, as if she was afraid I would run away. She was my best friend in the whole world. We were inseparable. I squeezed her hand and smiled. She smiled back.

We we're getting close to the court when the nausea hit me hard. I came to a stop and the feeling overwhelmed me, it almost blackened my vision. Oh crap. "Rose, wha.." Lissa got quiet when she saw them. I was frozen, terrified. I let go of Lissa's hand and pulled out my stake. There was lots of them. And they had us surrounded. "Well, this sucks." Adrian had his eyes locked on them. They were hungry. And closing in on us. My worst fears was becoming a reality. I knew I couldn't protect Lissa _and_ Adrian. It was one or the other. A Strigoi moved to close, and I jumped him. I kicked him, so he flew back and took down a couple of fellow Strigoi with him. Another one attacked and I punched him, turned around and punched him again. He tried to kick me, but I was too fast. I jerked a step back and threw my stake at his heart. Jackpot. The stake hit him hard right in the heart, and the Strigoi whimpered and fell to the ground. Five other Strigoi was about to jump me and I pressed up to Lissa, when he appeared. "Stop.." I recognized the sound within a heartbeat. "This sucks even more." Adrian choked out.

He was wearing jeans, a black t-shirt and his long and brown duster and his hair was tied back in a tight ponytail, similar to the very first time I'd met him. And he was holding up our desperate escape. Again. If he wasn't a dead and walking, I would have thought he looked hot. Very hot. Crap.

"Nice to see you again, Roza." I could hear a faint Russian accent. "You know, this is getting so old.." I growled. I could hear Lissa in my head. "_Don't tempt him, Rose."._

I kept her behind me, and away from Dimitri. I was going to defend her, even if it was the last thing I did. And looking at our misfortunate situation, I guessed that it was.

"You know, it's not her that I want." Dimitri smiled, showing his fangs. "Even though it wouldn't hurt to end the Dragomir bloodline once and for all."

"You won't get a chance to even come near her." I growled again. "But like I said, it's not her I want right now." he kept his cool face on. "That's right. You want me. Then take me and let them go." I could hear Lissa shriek in my head. "_What the hell are you doing? I'm not going to let him take you!" _I looked at her and smiled. "Liss, you've got to." I turned my head towards Dimitri again. "I have to be sure that they'll get to the royal court, so that they can be protected by the wards." I said coldly. "It's not the time to be demanding, Roza" his eyes pierced right through me. "Then I'll keep fighting you off, until I get killed or you get the message through you thick skull and let my friends go." Dimitri chuckled. "You never change." he said, raizing an eyebrow. "Want to test that theory?" I said fearlessly. He smiled again and looked me in the eyes, like he once used to. He was beautiful. Dangerous. Even though I knew he wasn't the same man anymore, wasn't the man I fell inlove with, I couldn't help but still want him. I wanted to kiss him. But in the state of condition he was in, he couldn't love me. He couldn't love me the same way he once did, the way I loved him. "You now, I could just kill you right now." He said smiling. "If you wanted to kill me, you'd skipped the smalltalks, and done it by now, comrade." I replied sarcasticly. I actually didn't understand why he hadn't finished me off yet. Lissa and Adrian didn't say anything. They were concentrated. They were ready to leap and run. A thought came to my mind.

Lissa once used her supercompulsion making Jesse think he was being attacked by huge spiders. Maybe she could do the same here. Maybe she could distract the Strigoi enough to escape. It was our best shot. Our only shot.

I projected myself into Lissa's mind, feeling overwhelmed by her fear. All the frightening images popped into her mind, and scared even me. She was freaking out in silence. _"Lissa. Listen." - "Rose, is it you?" - _

_"Listen to me, we're running out of time. Can you use your compulsion to make the Strigoi see things? So that they can be distracted? Even for a little while. Just enough for us to escape."_ I said.

"_I can try.. But I don't know for how long it'll work. And even if it does work, I don't think I have enough power to distract them all." _She could sence where I was going with this.. _"Don't worry, I'll take on the rest of them, after you've done it, grab Adrian and run and don't look back!" -_

_"Are you kidding, you could get killed!" _she hissed._ "Liss, please.. I need you to go and break Victor free for me. I need you to find his brother, and save Dimitri."_ I projected back to myself and felt i bit dizzy. "Rose," Lissa said quietly. "Don't". A tear slipped through her eye and Adrian looked confused back and forth between me and her. "NOW!" I yelled, and attacked Dimiti, even though it was against my higher reasoning. I tried to kick him, but he was to fast, he spun around and punched me in the face, unable to catch my footing, I started to fall. It hurt. A lot. But I got up again, ready to attack him once more. Lissa closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. Suddenly the Strigoi started to fight each other. "_Run!_" I yelled. She grabbed Adrian and they ran for their lifes. "No, Rose!" Adrian yelled. "Come on, god damnet!" Lissa hissed, pulling him with her. They disappeared into the woods.

I was standing, my hands clutched into fists, surrounded by my worst nightmare. Dimitri growled and looked freaking pissed off. I smiled and my heart was pounding, giving me an adrenalinrush. "Come and get me" I said, razing an eyebrow coldly. Dimitri stood there, not saying a word. The he looked to the sides and nodded. "Go.." Suddenly the Strigoi began to disappear into the woods too.. "You really think they're worth dying for?" he said when we were alone. "It's not them i'm dying for." I said looking him straight in the eyes. He shook his head. "You think you can save me? You think I _need_ your salvation?" he growled and with one movement he stood so close to me, that I could feel his cool skin without even touching it. It gave me the chills. He looked at me with anger and passion, and the red in his eye scared me.. "I don't know what you need" I said. I was about to break down. I was so tired of waiting for him to return to me. I was tired of never being able to hear him laugh anymore, or feel his touches.. I wanted him to wrap me in his arms and kiss me. He frowned and took a step closer, bringing his hands to my waist pulling me towards him. I let out a tear..This was heartbreaking. He brushed away my tears with a single handmovement and looked at me fiercely in the eyes. "I need you." he said. "All I can ever think about is when I get to be next to you again. But I shouldn't feel this way! I shouldn't feel at all, god damnet! he growled, releasing me again, pushing me down to the ground.. I fell on my knees, not bothering to get up again. My vision was blurry from all the tears. My fear was replaced by heartache. And I was a second away from begging him to kill me.

This was to much to handle. He grabbed my shoulders, and pulled me back up again and shaked me. "I wanted you to become like me. Be with me forever like this, because I always thought you could be used. But I realized, that's not why I wanted you to be with me forever. These feelings are alive. And they're suppose to be dead!" I didn't say anything. So Dimitri's feelings for me was still there. He loved me. Was I reliefed? Was I happy that this dead version of Dimitri also loved me? Was Dimitris feelings keeping me alive at this point? Or keeping a little part of him alive for that matter? Every possible question popped into my mind, and suddenly Dimitri pressed his lips hard against mine, and I forgot what I was thinking about. I wrapped my arms around his neck and he pulled me up to him. I wrapped my legs around his waist kissing him fiercely. He lost his balance and we fell to the ground among the thousand and thousands of leaves. He kept kissing me and I kept kissing him back. I couldn't restrain myself any longer. I wasn't strong enough. He ripped of my jacket, and then pulled of my hoody.. And I pulled of his duster and then his t-shirt. It was cold, and I think I was going numb. But I didn't care.. It felt like we'd been two lovers apart for years. It certainly felt like years. It was more than just lust. More than just passion.. Put I couldn't put my finger on it. I dug my nails into his skin, and he growled.. My heart burned with dessire. He pressed himself closer to me, letting his hand slide up my thigh. I could barely catch my breath. Suddenly he backed of. He stood up, staring at me.. I felt like he was memorizing every part of me. Every inch of my body. He looked confused and torned. And suddenly I came to myself, realizing that this wasn't Dimitri. This was a killer. And my feelings were clouding my judgement. I had to hide them again, if I wanted to survive right now.. Something told me Dimitri had the same epiphany about me. I jumped back to my feet, realizing that I had the chance of running. So I did. I started running, because there was no chance in hell I could kill him right now, I didn't even have my stake.

I've never runned so fast in my intire life. I was running for my life, and I could feel he was right behind me. He was sick of playing games, and wanted it overwith. If I didn't want to be with him as a Strigoi, then he would kill me. I tripped and fell down. As I was trying to get up, Dimitri had caught up with me and pulled me up, only to kick me down again. He kicked so hard, that I actually flew up in the air and hit a tree.. He was so fast. All of the sudden he was next to me. This time I couldn't get up. I couldn't move my body, although I felt great pain. He pulled me back up and smacked me down again. Then he leaned down, to sink his teeth in me, but I couldn't let him. I punched him and got up. Then I kicked him and he blocked my attack. He tried to punch me, but I ducked and punched him in the gut. He growled out of pain- I think I heard a rib crack. Then I flykicked him in the stomach and sent him flying into a tree too.. I started running again. The royal court was in my vision range, and I suddenly felt a burst of hope. Could it actually be, that I might make it?

I was so close, but Dimitri caught up with me again and threw me back to the ground. This time I wouldn't be getting up.. A strong pain shot through me and everything blackened.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

It only blackened for a second, and I was sure that this was it. The end of it. I was counting my last breaths, and tears had fallen from my eyes, when I knew I had failed. I would never see his big brown eyes again, or run my hand through his silky hair, and he would never hold me again, and I would never feel safe again, the way I felt with only him. Dimitri leaned down to me, and my heart stopped. My fear was paralyzing me and it felt horrible, I felt helpless. I wanted to run, but I couldn't. The little voice in my head, called reasoning, kept yelling at me to get up. But I was exhausted and wounded. I had deep cuts and scrapes everywhere. There was nothing I could do.

All of the sudden Dimitri swept his old duster softly around me, covering my shivering body, and then picked me up and started to carry me away. "No... Let me go, you son of a..." I muttered, trying to slap him in his face with my one hand, since the other was completely and ridiculously numb from the cold, but I kept missing it, not fully conscious.

I didn't say much after that and the world started to swim around me, and I knew I was on the verge of fainting again. _Damn,_ I thought, just as my eyes started to shut down. At first there was a blissful silence. But then something happened.

I felt like someone had pushed me and then pinned me to the ground, and the noice in the background was becoming more clear. "Son of a bitch!" I heard a familiar voice snap and suddenly I felt pain shoot through my body again as I started to gain my conscious. "Ow!" I groaned as I opened my eyes in shock. I found myself laying on the ground, with leaves in my hair and a bloody body covered in bruises. "What the.." I chocked out when my vision was starting to clear up again. I saw Dimitri being surrounded by fire, flinching everytime he got to close to the flames around him. My heart stopped for a tiny second, and then it raced away again. "No!" I cried out, bringing all the attention to myself. "Christian, don't!"

What the hell was Christian Ozera doing here all by himself? Was he on some kind of suicide missio... And then I suddenly realized. He wasn't alone. And he wasn't on a suicide mission either. He was here to make sure nothing would happen to Lissa. He was here to find her and protect her. And he brought a friend along. Eddie Castile. _My god_, was the academy letting all sorts of people out now? The flames didn't fade, Christian held them up around Dimitri like a wall, they just barely kept him occupied. Eddie ran towards me, keeping a safe distance from the flames, panicking at the sight of me. "Jesus, Rose, what did he do to you!" he hissed, kneeling down. He ran his hand through my hair as I laid on the ground, all stiff and pale from all the bloodloss. "Don't hurt him.." I muttered, all woozy. Eddie ignored my comment, trying to sweep me up. "You look like hell" he chuckled, trying to make fun of the situation. I thought about it for second. "On second thought, hurt him a little." Eddie chuckled again.

Relief washed through me, and suddenly I felt a burst of hope again. Eddie had swept me up, and stood with me in his arms, next to Christian. I had swept my arms around Eddies neck, burrying my face in his chest, not wanting to see Dimitris expression. It was heartbreaking to see him stand there, in the middle of a fire and not being able to do anything. But my curiosity won over me and I peeked up. _If only eyes could kill, _I thought. Dimitri was furious. And I could've sworn that I saw a bit of jealousy in his red ringed eyes that traced my arms around Eddies neck. "I'll find you again, Roza!" he growled loudly. But something in his voice showed a little affection.. Like I was to valuable for him to lose. It gave me the chills. "Don't count on it, sucker" Christian replied sarcasticly. "Dude, what the hell! He could kill us, don't tempt him!" Eddie whispered, poking him lightly in the arm. A smile played on Christians lips, not showing itself completely. _Psycho._ He was incredible with his powers. He knew stuff, no one else knew. He litterally played with fire. And the way he steadily held up the walls of fire around Dimitri fascinated me. "Let's go." Christian said coldly. "How much time do we have until the flames fade?" Eddie was seriously worrying about getting his ass kicked, by my badass undead mentor. "About 3 minutes" Christian replied as we darted out of the woods.

I tugged my myself tighter into Eddies embrace, as we ran towards an abbandon, trashed Daihatsu Charade. The colour was black _once upon a time_, but it was so old, that it almost seemed gray now. You could clearly see that some of the colour was peeled off by age. "You're kidding" I started laughing, but the faces on Eddie and Christian was telling me otherwise, so my smile fainted. "Wow, you're really not kidding." Eddie glansed down at me and a smile appeared. "Cut it out, Rose. It's a perfectly good car."

"Im sorry, I didnt realize I was talking to a blind person." I teased. "Well, at least we're not the ones who was about to get abducted by a coldbloded killer slash lover slash mentor" Christian chuckled at his own joke. "Can you suck more?" I muttered. "I don't know, am I named Rose?" He chuckled again. "Pull one more joke, and I swear to god I won't be afraid to drown you in motoroil, if there's any left in that piece of junk." I didn't find his jokes amusing, I had actually completely forgot about Christians annoying side. Wait.. "..Abducted by a coldbloded killer slash_ lover _slash_..."_ Christian knew about me and Dimitri! And so did Eddie! "Y-You know about me and...Dimitri?" I hesitated to ask. "Are you kidding? Everyone back at the academy knows!" Christian laughed out loud. "But how?" Eddie took over. "Well after you and Lissa left, people started to ask questions. And then someone overheard the guardins talking, and well.. One thing led to another.."

"And now the whole school knows.." I finished his sentence. "Yeah."

I thought about it for a second and then decided I didn't want to think about it anymore. "So um, what the hell are you guys doing here anyway?" I smiled wryly. "Doesn't the word Strigoi scare you people anymore?"

"Nah," a smile widened itself on Christians lips. "They've lost their touch." Eddie chuckled.

Eddie laid me down in the backseat, and then started driving. It took a while for the engine to warm up, and by the time it did, I was all asleep. Or so I believed.

"Get down!" Adrian yelled, and Lissa ducked, clutching something hard in her hand. The Strigoi missed his shot at her, and then Mia captivated him with water, long enough for them to escape. Lissa grabbed the old man, and they all ran down an alley, that led up to a big street filled with humans. It was night time, and most of them was probably going clubbing. Something Lissa and I missed to do. It had been a while, and the thought of me and her dancing, just like in the old days, made me smile, even in my sleep.

It wasn't hard to mingle into the crowd, they just followed it until they could break free and make their way to the car. Once Lissa had opened the door, she almost pushed the old man in, and hopped in herself. Mia couldn't get into the car fast enough either. They buckled up and by the count of three, they were out of sight. Adrian leaned back in his seat, rubbing his thumbs against the steering wheel, frowning. "Close one, huh?" Mia blurted out. "Too close" Lissa responded coldly, pulling her legs up and wrapping her arms around them. Adrian glansed back in the mirror at Lissa, and she stared at him, while playing with a silver, lightning pendant in her hand, that looked like a _molnija _mark, that she was clutching on to before. A swirl of emotions played in her chest. Sadness, lonelyness, despair, hate. All of those things reflected in Adrian too. This was killing me, what the hell was going on?

"You know, this was the stupidest thing you ever could've done. Ofcourse I am happy for you setting me free, do not misunderstand me, but we're four Moroi without a single guardian. The tricks you pulled off back there isn't going to save you in the long run. Or me." the old man said strained, obviously fearing for his own life. His voice sounded so familiar. "We had a guardian. We lost her. She gave her own life to save our asses. I'm not going to ask another man or woman to sacrifice theirs, to save mine. It's simply not worth it." Adrian explained thoroughly. "Ah..Rosemarie." The old man smiled, looking down at his feat. The mention of my name made my heartrate grow rapidly. "It's such a shame, I had such big plans for her. One day she would stand among the greatest of the greates guardians, she would had been a valuable possesion" he finished off. "Don't you ever mention her name, you bastard"

"Lissa!" Mia chocked out, shocked over Lissa swearing. Usually Lissa was the last to swear, she was always so kind and warm. But she wasn't herself. Her eyes were filled with sorrow and hate and nothing less. This didn't even look like Lissa anymore. She was way to pale, even for a Moroi, and the bags under her eyes were enormous. Adrian looked just as weak, they'd probably didn't feed in days back at the academy, and it was leaving a mark on them now. They were weak and exhausted. Lissa didn't even look at Mia, she held the old mans gaze, and then turned around and stared blankly out of the window. "I know you're hurt, Vasilisa, but you have to believe that Rose did it for the greater good" the old man continued. "Rose was stupid." Lissa muttered coldly. And an icy feeling rushed through my bones. "Liss..Don't call her that" Mia said with a sad edge to her voice. "Let's just talk about something else.."

"Or let's _not _talk at all" Lissa snapped. No one else said anything for a long, long time. _This dreams sucks_, I thought. Where was my Dimitri that always showed himself in my dreams? I missed him already, and the experience with Strigoi Dimitri only made me ache more for my loving Dimitri. I couldn't snap out of my dream. It had sucked me in Lissas head, and I couldn't pull myself out again. I felt her every emotion. _Lovely_.

"So. Where are we going now?" Mia asked. Adrian shrugged. "Ask Victor." Aha! I knew I could recognize that fascist bastard! It was Victor Dashkov, and Lissa and Adrian finally had him! Everything went accordinly to plan. Well, almost everything.

Mia turned around to face Victor. "So. Where are we going now?" she repited, a hint of smile played on her lips. I was anxious to get the answer. He had to tell the truth, he was free now and would have no motives for lying. What would he gain? But then again, it's Victor Dashkov we're talking about here. He got to have some hidden agenda of his own. He would never give up the idea of him as a ruler of the Moroi world. And he would never give up his obsession of Lissa, not even for a second. But the thought of me alive enough to protect her from him, made my stomach tingle in a happy way. I was pretty sure I was smiling again.

"Alaska."

"You left your brother in Alaska!" Mia chocked out. "Dude, you're wickedly evil" she chuckled. " I didn't leave him there." Victor shot blondy a wry look, just like Dimitri used to when he wasn't amused by my snappy comebacks. "I needed him to be safe, so I found a big property in Alaska, guarded by many guardians and protected by wards."

"So, where in Alaska is he?" She continued and looked amused and exited at the same time, knowing next stop would be Alaska. "In Galena. It's located on the north bank of Yukon River, 45 miles east of Nulato."

"Sweet home, Alaska" Adrian muttered amused and sped up a bit.

I shot up in my own car, knocking my head against the car seiling, making Eddie and Christian jump up in their already switched seats. I knew Eddie hated driving, so he wouldn't drive for long. "Ow!" I groaned for the 100th time today. I knew that I wasn't been dreaming. Lissas feelings were so intense that she had dragged me into her mind again, and I was to weak and tired to even fight against it. Not that I wanted to. I wanted to see how things were going with her and Adrian. And obviously good. Or.. Sort of. They had Victor. And they were alive. That was all I needed to know. But the darkness that I'd felt, while being trapped inside her mind, made my spider sence tingle. I had to go to her, fast. I rubbed my head, knowing that this was going to leave a bump. And like I really needed anymore bumps. I felt a huge headache comnig on. _Damn. _

"Jesus, Rose. You scared the hell out of me" Eddie said nervously, putting his hand to his chest. "Speed up, we're going to Alaska" I blurted out with a smile. Christian turned around, eyeing me ridiculously. "Stop looking at me like that" I gave him my famous "you suck" look. "That's where they're heading." Christians face hardened a bit, and then he shrugged. "Why the hell Alaska of all states?" Lissa and I hadn't told Christian about our plan, the whole breaking Victor free and rescuing Dimitri thing. But it wasn't like we didn't want to, Christian was ignoring Lissa so there wasn't a lot she could tell. His bad. "Because that's where the person we need to talk to, lives." I just said, to exhausted to go through the big round of explaination. "Now hit the gas damnet" I ordered teasingly. Christian shrugged and hit the gas as told and Eddie turned op the radio as loud as it could get, singing along to sweet home alabama. We were racing through the road and I was enjoying every moment of it. I knew I was that much closer to my beloved Dimitri.

The song made me think about Adrians last words before I woke up.. "Sweet home, Alaska" I chuckled. "That's not how the song goes" Eddie tried to correct me. "_Shut up_" I ordered again.


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4**

"Get up!" he growled. Pain was shooting through every inch of my body, but failure was not an option. I jumped back to my feet and sprang toward him, hoping to catch him by surprice. But with Dimitri that was fairly hard. And he was fast, nearly too fast. I managed to land a few good blows on him, although they seemed to do me more damage than him. Dimitri finally called a break. I was breathing heavily and sweat coated my skin. A shower was necessary, if I wanted to pass for a girl anymore.

"You need to concentrate more, Rose" he said coldly, showing me his tough-love mentor side. "Come on, you know I did well" I groaned, rubbing a soar spot on my thigh. "_Well_ isn't good enough!" He snapped and I couldn't help but flinch by the words _good enough. Auch._ I stared at him, with anger in my eyes. "Well I'm sorry I'm not good enough for you then" I snorted back and turned, marching across the gym, towards the exit. I was all worked up, I felt so aggravated, even though I knew Dimitri was right, I wasn't doing my best. I wasn't concentrating hard enough, my heartrate only increased rapidly because of the sight him, standing there, looking all god-like. I wasn't concentrating on our training session, on our fight. I was concentrating on him, and him only. Like always, I couldn't take my eyes away from my bad-ass hot mentor. I've missed him _so_ much and he was all business-like. But was that enough reason to throw a fit like that? I knew it was wrong on some level, but my pride was telling me to keep walking. So I did. "_Well isn't good enough" _I mumbled and made a face.

Suddenly I felt something warm tighten around my wrist. I only had a small chance to glance back, before he gently pulled me into his warm chest. He smelled so good, that I almost passed out.

"Roza, I'm sorry" He sighed heavily. "I just.. I just don't want to lose you. I love you so much and the thought of you being...hurt is unbearable." Suddenly excitement surged through me. His certain apology surprised me, and I found myself looking very hard for something to say. But I was speechless. He looked deeply into my eyes in a way that made the air between us burn fiercely. I was seconds away from combusting. Our gazes locked, and before I could even make out one single cyllibal, his lips crushed mine. The kiss was passionate and hungry, our body entwined together. I wasn't sure where he ended and I began. We were like one. Everything within me burned with desire, and I never wanted this to stop. I wanted to stay like this forever.

"Rose!"

I snapped back from my dream, leaving my soulmate behind in the world of unconscious. I felt a slight prickle in my eyes, and soon the tears were building up behind my eyelids. I didn't want to leave Dimitri yet. He was the only thing keeping me sane at this point. Even though, it wasn't real. He wasn't real.. Oblivious to my emotions Christian continued speaking. "We're here." As soon as I heard those words I took in my surroundings.

The lot was empty and covered in snow and ice. There wasn't much of nature, only dead trees and a few branches here and there. Nothing like I'd expected. And then my eyes slid down to the building almost sizing the academy. My eyebrows rose. It was huge and didn't seem like a place I really wanted to visit. I couldn't see much though, because the property was surrounded by a fence. It wrapped the building in a way, that made any hopes of getting in, a lost cause. I sighed. No wonder. If Robert really could do, what Mark once told me, he needed serious protection. Suddenly I saw a flash go before my eyes.

_His feet hitting the ground firm and hard, as he runs towards me and picks me up, twirls me around.. Both of us unbelievebly happy._

_"Roza..Roza, Roza!" he whispers with a faint russian accent, into my ear. A smile playing across his lips, as he suddenly presses them tenderly against mine.. The only thing that matters is the regular thudding against his chest. His heartbeat. His warmth and his gorgeous brown eyes looking deeply into mine._

And with a smile my flash ended. Eddies hand suddenly rested on my shoulder. "So.. What now?" My smile faded. I glanced up to the sky, and had to look hard through the thick clouds, to find the moon. It was full moon. A sign for a new start. Or the end. Depends on how you wanted to interpreted it. And that's when I've decided what the outcome was going to be. This was a new start. Not the end. I was going to go positive at it. "Let's go pay a visit" I smiled yet again.

We stepped outside the car and started to walk towards the front gates. My heart was beating faster, everytime I took a step closer towards the building. "Is Lissa in there?" Christian asked with a hesitant voice. The mention of her name starled me, I didn't even have the chance to think about her yet.. Suddenly guilt rushed over me. "No, I don't think so.. I..I can't feel her in there." I stuttered from the cold. Christian didn't mention her again, but walked in silence towards the front gate. "Take this" Eddie handed over his jacket. "No, I don't need-"

"Take it" he ordered. I couldn't help but smile, it was a sweet gesture. "Thank you." I slipped into the big jacket, and crossed my arms tight into my chest, waiting for the warmth to find me. Wishful thinking. Alaska was starting to get to me. "No problem. You were starting to look blue" He flashed one of his teasing smiles, swinging his arms across my shoulders. I strained a low chuckle.

We were aproaching the gates when the naseua hit me hard, and made me want to crumble down to the ground. "Shit!" I hissed and made Christian swiftly turn around to face me. "What is it, Rose?" Eddie breathed nervously, releasing my shoulders at once. "They're here" I breathed and Christians confused face turned into a face of horror when his eyes locked on the handfull Strigoi creeping in on us, behind me. "Guys.." Christian choked out. "Run!" I yelled.

The adrenalin was kicking through my veins as I ran across the lot, towards the gates. I was a bit faster than Eddie, and Eddie was a lot faster than Christian. Dhampirs were trained to run fast. Moroi weren't trained to do anything, which kind of bugged me now. If they were going to let Dhampirs protect them, not really doing anything, they could at least learn how to run faster then that. I was certain that Christian would be the end of me. "God damnit! Run faster, a two-year old could've outrun you by now!" I yelled back to Christian in hope that he would kick up the pace. "Shut up! I'm.. doing.. my.. best" He breathed heavily. He wasn't going to last long. I slowed down a bit, running besides Christian now. "We're almost there, come on!" I kept pressing. I peeked back just to see how far behind the Strigoi were, but to my further shock I saw.. Nothing. No Strigoi.

"Wait.." I slowed further down, realizing what was about to happen. "Eddie! Stop, STOP!" Eddie peeked back at me, slowing down, giving enough time for the Strigoi to sneak up in front of him. She gave a low chuckle, and that was all Eddie needed to stop and slowly turn his head around to face her. "Holy shit!"

"Booh!" She whispered, before she sent him flying towards Christian and I. But I was too fast. I pushed Christan to the side, right in time for Eddie to fall roughly to the ground, besides us. Unaware of how we were going to make it, I felt panic coming on. "Eddie!" Christian cried out, and crawled over to him.. The female Strigoi tilted her head slightly and smiled, showing fangs, and was by Christians side in a flash. She loved the sight of a crumbling Moroi. And obviously, the Moroi was her first priorarity. I searched my jacket, praying for a stake. Luckily I was wearing Eddies jacket, another guardian - or yet to become, if he made out of this one alive. My prayers had been answered. Pulling out my stake, anger replaced panic. I was getting fairly tired of being smacked around. And someone was going to pay for it, Rose-style.

She was a step away from me, leaning in to get a good bite on Christian.

"Hey BITCH" I hissed. "Wanna taste?" She turned around just enough to see my fist hit her in the face. Blood suddenly splattered into the snow, and a low hiss escaped through her teeth. I placed my foot on her throut, and that would've be enough for someone to suffocate, if they needed any oxygen supply. "Where's your smile now?" Was all I said before plunging my stake right into her heart. Christian turned away his head in disgust.

Suddenly someone clapped. I glanced up, to see my worst enemy in the red-ringed eyes. Dimitri.

***Disclaimer: I think everyone knows that I don't own Vampire Academy. Everything belongs to Richelle Mead.**


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAHPTER 5**

Christian jumped to his feet, and stood beside me. Fear was peeping out of his eyes, but he did a pretty good job covering it up. If there was a word to describe Christian, it would be loyal. And annoying, but mostly loyal. He would never let a friend stand alone. Neither would I.

"Quite a show" Dimitri said with amusement in his eyes. "Very barbaric"

"Yeah, well you're really the one to know" I retorted, raising my eyebrows in a sarcastic movement. He eyed me for a second and then let my snorty comeback pass. He didn't mind the thought of being a barbaric killer, I guess. The thought sickened me. My heart was thudding hard against my chest. I was scared to death. I was so close to saving Dimitri, this couldn't be the end. Sure as hell I wasn't about to give up on him. I shifted my weight from one foot to another, taking a defensive position. "You know, you're quite the stalker" Christian mocked, crossing his arms in a stubborn gesture. Eddie got up, rubbing his nose, and joined our defensive line. "Really, you should know when you're being rejected by a girl." If it was any other Strigoi he would've ripped off Eddies head by now. But Dimitri just stood there, never taking his red and gorgeous eyes away from me. There was some sort of emotion in them. I couldn't put my finger on it. Anger? Lust? Really looking at him made me want to drewl. God, he looked good. _Stop looking_, I told myself. I tightened my grip around the cold metal, and it sent shivers through my whole body. I just wanted to get this overwith. Wanted to move on with this scene.

I eyed the other Strigoi aswell, and I counted them to be 8 on the left side of Dimitri, and 9 on the right. That was a hell of a lot Strigoi for two novices and a Moroi to handle. Especially when one of the Strigoi was the love of my life, and knew my every move, since he was the one who had taught them to me. Finally he spoke. "Roza.." he took a step towards me. "Stop fighting me." Eddie, Christian and I backed up a couple of feet, at the same time. I think we looked scared and kind of pathetic, but I didn't care. The only thing that mattered was getting out of here alive. I wanted to say something clever in return, but I decided to keep my mouth shut. I didn't want to lose my concentration. Instead Christian had something to say. "You've got to be delusional if you really think we're going to let you take her" I had to resist a sudden urge to elbow him in the ribs. There was no need to tempt the cold-blooded killers, I mean seriously.

"I know you're not going to _let_ me takeher, but that doesn't mean that I won't" Dimitri said, his voice calm and velvet.

I couldn't stand fighting with Dimitri, not when he was alive and not now. So what I did next didn't come as a surprice. Handing over my stake to Eddie, I held my hand up in a friendly gesture and took two steps forward. Eddies and Christians hands were on my arms in an instant, restraining me. "Guys, it's okay" I said as calmly as I could, never taking my eyes off Dimitri. Eddie let go, clutching his stake, ready to jump in and stake the first Strigoi that touched me, but Christian hesitated and then eyed me for a second. "Really, I'm fine." I glanced over at him. Slowly he lifted his hand and let it slide to his side, clutching it into a fist. My eyes rolled back to meet Dimitris and then I proceeded. "Dimitri.. Please..." I took another slow step. "Please, don't.." His eyes narrowed. I felt something ache inside my chest, something tearing it apart, an icecold sensation rushing through my every bone. This was pain. _Real _pain. I didn't know how I'd managed to live through every day, without Dimitri in my purposeless life. I was preparing myself throughout my whole life to become a guardian, to protect the Moroi world with my own life, to protect Lissa. This was the life I'd chosen to live, I had chosen to live through unspeakable pain, to protect something I had believed in strongly once. Nothing of it mattered now. _Nothing_. Not if I couldn't have him in my life. I was tired.. Really tired. Tired of running, tired of hiding, tired of fighting. Embracing the pain, I let myself fall apart infront of my love. Infront of everyone. Tears running drastically down my cheeks, blurring my vision, I started to fall down to my knees. I was expecting cold smashing into my legs, wet jeans sticking to my icecold skin, but instead I felt a hard grip around my arms - it felt like the hold could easily crush my bones - holding me upright. Blinking away my tears, I looked into the gorgeous eyes of the man I onced used to adore. "Dimitri..." I whispered, not wanting him to let me go, though knowing how sick this was, how sick it was for me to feel this. _This isn't him, _my higher reason screamed at me. _This isn't the Dimitri you love._ "Roza" he breathed. "Please, don't cry." The sound of his voice made me want to wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him fiercely. _Ugh!_ _You're sick! Sick, sick, sick, _ my inner voice yelled at me again. I swallowed back more tears. "Roza.." He said, cupping my face in his hands. "Listen to me. I don't want to hurt you, I never wanted to. I want to be with you, _really _be with you" he continued. "Don't touch her, you son of a bitch!" Eddie yelled, while being pinned down by a Strigoi. I glanced back to see Christian being restrained by a female Strigoi too, fighting against the cold grip. "Let me go, or so help me god I'll set your hair on fire, blondy!" he growled. But I think the woman only got more annoyed than offended by his empty threat. Her grip tightened on him instead and Christian was a second away from popping just like pimple. "Ow!" He struggled to get away from her hold. How could I have been so distracted by my own sorrow, to let Strigoi get past me and get to my friends? How did this get so out of control? I was the only one who was supposed to be in this situation, it was my choice to free Dimitri from the eternal life of evil. It was my choice to run off recklessly, not entirely thinking it all the way through. How did I get my friends involved in this..

Dimitri forcefully turned my head around to look him in the eyes once again. I lost track of the world around me. "Roza.." He breathed. "Please, Come with.." This was getting out of hand. _Get a grip of yourself, damnit, _I kicked myself mentally. _For the love of god, this isn't the man of your dreams! _And I was right.. He wasn't. Not this way, no. My higher reasoning was all I had left apparently, because it felt like all my other sences had bailed on me. I wiped off the tears and exhaled.

"No." I interrupted him. He let out a sigh. "Why are you so stubborn?"

"I am not."

"Yes, you are" His eyes narrowed "And do _not_ tell me that you're not"

"Fine" I released myself away from his touch and backed up a couple of steps, a bit woozy from all of this contact with this gorgeous man. He muttered something in russian and then took a step towards me, with that evil smirk that only convinced me more to stick to my original planning and get the good Dimitri back, _my Dimitri.._

"I'm done playing games with you" I said without hesitation. He took a step closer, but I didn't budge, I wasn't going to show any signs of fear. "I'm not going to let you awa.." He leapt forward and grabbed my arm, pulling me close in an instant, crushing his lips against mine wildly. I thought about breaking free of his hold, but then shoved the thought aside. I probably wouldn't be strong enough to get away - and.. Why would I want to get away? I wanted to be kissed. I wanted to kiss him badly. Sickened, but yet unable to break away, I kissed him fiercely back.

His hand slowly tangled into my hair softly, while the other rested on my waist. My arms slowly slid up to his neck, forcing him closer, even though it was impossible at this point - we couldn't _get _any closer. I yearned for him, my skin tingled with delight. My breathing got heavier and my hands tangled in his hair aswell, clutching it in my hands fiercely. He let a moan slip through his perfect-shaped lips. I forgot about our audience, and the only thing that reminded me of them was a growl here and there and a lot of _ugh_'s and _ew_'s.

He was the one to break our passionate kiss. "See, I knew you still wanted me" he said with a smile casually playing across his wonderfully soft lips. And boy, did I want him. "No, I don't" I said, sensing that Dimitri could totally see through my lie. And it was a horrible lie. But my skin still had this tingle of complete happiness and that was all my mind was focused on. Once again I mentally kicked myself again.

"Then why did you kiss me back?"

"I don't have to answer that, what are you a lawyer?" He let out a cold laugh and the sound of it sent shivers down my spine.

"Um, Rose, a little help, please!" Eddie cried out. I glanced back to see the Strigoi being too close to Eddies neck for him to be safe.

"Call back your minions and let my friends go!" I choked out in anger. "What happens to your friends is none of my concern. You are. I've told you this before." Dimitri responded. "And they're not my minions."

"Fine" I said, gridding my teeth. "Then I'll kill them. I'll kill them all." I said turning swiftly my back on him, picking up the stake that Eddie had dropped when being tackled by a Strigoi, and walking towards Eddies apponant. "Rose, you can't do this" Dimitri said flatly, his voice dark and cold.

"Watch me."

Sneaking from behind I plunged the stake in the back of the Strigoi making him crumble in pain. I heard a loud growl behind me and turned around just in time to block a kick to the stomach. I staggered from the impact, but I was too fast for the Strigoi to do any real damage. Obviously a newborn. I kicked her in the stomach, making her fall roughly flat on her back. It was over before Eddie managed to blink. I had staked the Strigoi and her painful scream made Eddie jump up in disgust and fear. "How do you do that" he asked in disbelief, his eyes wide. "It's a talent" I coldly replied. Indeed death was my talent, so to speak.

I threw the stake over to Eddie and he managed to scare of the Strigoi long enough for Christian to set her on fire. "Warned you" he shrugged, while the Strigoi burned to ashes.

I was fighting my next apponant, when suddenly I heard his voice through the loud growls. His voice was distingueshed, all of the other noices fell, lingering in the background, only his voice cut through, clear as a bell to my ears. Everything seemed to be moving in slowmotion to me.

"Roza!" I turned around to see Dimitri, rushing over to me, his eyes filled with concern and fear. Concern? Fear? Fear of what? Losing me? A Strigoi couldn't feel that kind of feelings.. Or could they?

His feet crushed the snow, as he launched himself across the lot, towards where I was standing, fighting... And that's when I realised I'd made a mistake. I had turned my back on my enemy. It felt like metal cutting through my flesh. My eyes rolled down to the left side of my neck and thats where I felt my hope shattered. A Strigoi was biting fast and hard into me and it felt like he was tearing me apart, I gasped in pain. But then I felt this complete bliss rush over me..

"Roza, NO!" Was all I heard before complete and utter happiness hit me and made my skin tingle in a different way than before. "Rose!!!" Eddie cried out, breaking away from his own fight, rushing towards me. "Rose, hold on!" Christian screamed too.

My heartrate was slowing and I suddenly felt colder than before. I could just barely hear my heart thudding weakly against my chest. I felt life leaving me, pouring into someone else.

My eyes found their way back to Dimitri, memorizing his face, his breathtaking eyes, the way his hair curled by the tips.. This was the last time I would see him, I was sure... I streatched out one hand towards him. "Dimitri..." A tear strolled down my cheek and then suddenly everything blackened, and I was sure that I wouldn't be escaping death this time. Not this time. _Damn._


End file.
